'Sweeney Todd' Gets the Metal Production it Deserves

A dark story of murder and madness is made for shredding.

Sweeney Todd is the soul of a death metal concept album trapped in the body of a Broadway musical. Finally, the Landless Theatre Company is uncaging its true voice to howl onstage.

The Washington Post reports that Stephen Sondheim’s two-act on the consequences of revenge and excessive grooming is getting a prog-metal treatment. The orchestra pit has been dragged down to hell and replaced with a six-piece band under the stage to ride the lightning through the most brutal rendition of “The Worst Meat Pies in London” you’ve ever heard.

There’s nothing new under the unblinking eye of Cthulu, and while this might be the best metal production of the demon barber’s story it will definitely not be the first. Game recognize game, and plenty of fingertips have bled their love of Sondheim’s showstoppers all over the fretboards of a B.C. Rich hardbody.